Thursday, November 14, 2013

It's such a privilege & an honor to turn today's post (which is a very serious topic) over to this fellow author. She's the author of the Wife 101 Series and the novel Spell (under her pseudonym Janell), has a master's in marriage counseling, a Ph.D in Leadership, and the list goes on. Everybody show your love to my Sister & fellow author Dr. A'ndrea Wilson (and please support her works, she is one gifted author).

Based on a True Story:

The Difference between Demonic Oppression and Possession

By Janell

As a child, I remember seeing the movie The Exorcist,
featuring a girl who was possessed by a demon and a religious clergy
who attempted to release her from this awful fate. Since then, a
plethora of movies and books have emerged, sensationalizing demonic
possession in an intentional effort to scare the living daylights out of
us. The worst of those endeavors being the ones that begin with the
eerie disclaimer, “Based on a true story.” I’ll never forget going to
the theater to see the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose,
and afterwards, being terrified of waking up in the middle of the night
for weeks. If I was smarter and bolder back then, I would have done my
homework on both this particular phenomenon and demonic possession, and probably would have slept better a lot sooner. Unknown to me in those days, in movies that are based on true events, the original story is often drastically changed or added upon for
the sake of entertainment. Despite this truism, demonic possession does
occur; however, before you find a wooden cross and start reciting The
Lord’s Prayer, allow me to give you a bit more information about the
topic.

We
know demonic possession is real because it is spoken about throughout
the Bible, including during the time of Jesus. There are many references
to Jesus and his disciples casting out unclean spirits—better known as
demons. Since we are aware that demonic possession has
taken place throughout time, the next crucial questions most would
probably ask is why and how. I don’t claim to be a Bible scholar, but in
my research for my novel, Spell, I discovered the following
Christian-based beliefs about the why and how.

Why?

The
Bible tells us that the devil and his “fallen” angels were cast out of
heaven. Since then, they have become the enemy of God and mankind. This
enemy seeks to destroy humanity because of his jealous nature toward
God. His hope is to hurt God by ruining one of His greatest
creatures—man. This mission began in the Garden of Eden with the
tricking of Adam and Eve and will continue until the enemy is cast into
the Lake of Fire before the creation of the new heaven and new earth.

The enemy’s
army is spiritual which means that they do not have human bodies.
Without a human body, their ability to influence the natural world is
limited. Therefore, they look for human bodies to become houses, places
where their spirits can reside and have a greater negative impact on the
natural world. This is where it is important to understand the how.
Spirits without a human body can only oppress people, but some find a body to reside in, and those persons are considered possessed.

How?

As stated, most spirits reside outside of the human body and only have the ability to oppress. Demonic oppression is simply having an influence on a person via their thoughts or emotions, but unable to have access to the person’s mind and body. The spirit can only impact the individual using their
senses (what the person sees, hears, smells, touches, tastes). An
oppressive spirit might try to get the person to believe they are
depressed, angry, lonely, vengeful, tired, etc. Simple prayers and a
refocusing of thoughts are enough to overcome an oppressive spirit. The
Bible tells us in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” We are encouraged to keep our thoughts on what is positive right after we are told not to be anxious for anything, but to use prayer and petition, as well as to allow God’s peace to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:6-7).

Alternatively, demonic possession reflects
the inhabiting of the person’s body, giving the evil spirit more
influence and control than oppression. In most cases, people who are
possessed must be delivered and the possessing spirit must be cast out.
Often we think of exorcisms as the typical method of casting out
spirits, but it is possible that salvation itself could remove the
spirit. Spiritual guidance is warranted in these cases.

Based on my research, Christians can
be oppressed by evil spirits, but not possessed. The Bible states that
light and darkness cannot exist together. However, Christians can make
themselves vulnerable to possession through sin. Christians are
encouraged to stay far away from witchcraft and occult practices such as
Ouija boards, horoscopes, tarot card, palm readings, psychics, séances,
etc. Christians are also told to flee from all sin because sin creates
holes in our spiritual armor, making us more prone to the tactics of
evil.

So
let’s recap. Demonic possession is real. The enemy wants to destroy
lives and often does so through demonic oppression and possession.
Demonic oppression is influencing the individual from outside of the
body while demonic possession occurs within the body. Salvation is key
to avoid possession, yet a saved individual
can still be oppressed, and if they open themselves up through
witchcraft and/or sin, can also be possessed. To avoid oppression, think
on good things. Keep your mind stayed on God who is able to keep you in
perfect peace. To avoid possession, receive salvation, avoid sin and witchcraft, and repent (turn away) from committed sins. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For
we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present
darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:11-13).True story.

Janell is pseudonym used by Inspirational Author A’ndrea J. Wilson. Janell is the author of Christian thrillers, including Spell, Grave, and Vanity. To find out more about Janell visit www.iamjanell.com or www.divinegardenpress.com.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

On my way to work this morning, my spirit was so full and/or heavy. With that, I need to empty it because my life is to be poured out. God was showing me how we act when we're offended. Eight scenarios appeared to me and they capture the essence of how we act when we're offended.

1. Some people will be offended by what you say & do, but will overlook it if they are able to use you for their self-seeking purpose.

2. There will be those who will be offended by you & they will get their friends and your friends to betray you (because of pride, maintain their status quo).

3. Many people will be offended but they won't vocalize it until you get real close to their face with what offends them.

As I'm typing this, The Lord dropped this. You get offended when others are going through, but expect others to drop what they're doing to cater to you when you're going through. Because you're offended, you don't bother to pray. This is nothing more than a Pharisee attitude.

4. Just because you have a certain elite group doesn't mean that everybody has your best interest at heart (Judas Iscariot was part of an elite group and He turned on the Leader because he was offended).

5. We run quickly to the next biggest event (because a man/woman is in our area) than we do the Word of God. And we will take offense if we point out an action that man/woman does is a sin against the Bible. We will really take offense if we call out his or her teaching (even if he or she says we are our own god).

Back to point 4. There are modern-day Judas' around. They stay silent until you say something that offends their personal agenda. Once you say something, they come out of nowhere and unleash every demonic spirit within them. Now, I'm not saying they are demonic, just pointing out the action.

6. We love Jesus though He came to bring division (offense), but we hate our brother/sister because they offended us over something so minor.

7. When a believer says something you don't like, you take offense! But if someone with a title says the same thing the believer said, you welcome it with open arms.

8. Now watch people take offense to this one: God does not base your status in heaven based on your earthly title!

Monday, November 11, 2013

I met this author at the Ubawa Book Fair (held in Atlanta, GA) in September 2013. She's an awesome person. With that said, show your love for sister & fellow author Tina McKinney.

Tina
Brooks McKinney began her writing career as a dare. As an avid reader, writing
was the next step for her. Armed with a very active imagination and a story to
tell, Tina penned her first novel All That Drama. Readers fell in love with Tina’s no-nonsense
characters and her comedic style of weaving a story. Since then, Tina has
written ten novels and two novellas. Her titles include, All That Drama, Lawd,
Mo’ Drama, Fool, Stop Trippin’, Dubious, Deep Deception, Snapped, Got Me
Twisted, Deep Deception 2, Snapped 2: The Redemption, Betta Not Tell and Catch
Fire and Catch Fire 2, which will be released in the next few months.

A
wife and mother of two, Tina uses real life situations to both entertain and
inspire her readers. You can find out
more information about her by visiting her website, www.tinamckinney.com or drop her an
email at tybrooks2@yahoo.com. She
would love to hear from you.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

I think about all of the teens I've talked with who suffered sexual abuse and adult survivors of sexual abuse (of which I am), and I find a common trend. Family & friends side with the sexual predator (even if it's in the family) and tell their abused child to get over it, how dare you lie about the family (or put our business in the street), or they're punished more than their sexual predator. If we proclaim that we "love" everybody, then show some love to an abused child instead of ridiculing a child.

What you're about to read below comes from a page that I like on Facebook. And this confirms what I typed above and the need for the community to wake up (or don't be surprised if it happens to one of your children and then you cry foul)!

There
are things that predators sometimes offer children that well-meaning
adults don’t. Predators often listen to children to make them feel
valued. Predators compliment children to make them feel special.
Predators tell children that they love them to make them feel adored.
Predators give children favors to make them feel important. Predators
give children responsibilities that make them feel competent. Too often
these things are absent in the life of children, and the absence of
these things is what opened the door to many of our victimizations.
Predators are evil people that are given opportunities by well-meaning
people. Wake up, humanity.

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About Me

Tremayne Moore (The "Mayne Man") is the principal of Maynetre Manuscripts, LLC, a publishing company. He is a singer/rapper, songwriter, spoken word motivational speaker and the author of the popular "You Can Take It" poetry series as well as two novels: Deaf, Dumb, Blind & Stupid (released May 2012) and Pieces of Me (released August 2013).
He currently holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting and in Management Information Systems.
His motto on life is summed up in the words of the Apostle Paul from Philippians: Christ shall be magnified in my body; whether by life or by death.